South Korean officials on Monday said that the country will evacuate tens and thousands of scouts via buses from a heatwave-hit coastal jamboree site as a powerful tropical storm, named Khanun, approaches the country.
Kim Sung-ho, a vice minister at South Korea's Interior and Safety Ministry, said that over 1,000 vehicles will be used from Tuesday to move 36,000 scouts from the World Scout Jamboree in the Buan county. The scouts belong from 158 countries and are mostly teenagers.
The World Scout Jamboree is a global event in which thousands of scouts from all over the world participate, slated from August 1 to 12 this year in South Korea. However, the World Organization of the Scout Movement had asked Seoul to cut the event short due to a grueling heat wave that has affected hundreds of participants.
The scouts are said to be accomodated in Seoul, the South Korean capital, and the nearby metropolitan area. The entire operation would take more than six hours and the campsite at the jamboree will no longer be used for any event after the departure of the scouts, Kim said. Meanwhile, officials are trying to secure adequate spaces at government training centers and education facilities as well as hotels in Seoul and nearby.
The world scouting body had also called on South Korea to quickly move the scouts out of the storm Khanun's path and provide necessary resources and support until they have reached their home countries.
About the tropical storm
The major tropical storm Khanun, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, has caused incessant rains, power shortages and disruption of flights and train services in the country's southwestern islands and was predicted to touch the main island of Kyushu this week.
Additionally, South Korea's weather agency said that the storm was likely to make landfall in the country on Thursday with winds as strong as 118 to 154 kilometres per hour, potentially affecting Buan on Wednesday.
The agency said that the storm was 160 km away from Japan's Amami city and issued a warning for mudslides, high winds and rough seas. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called for 'contingency' plans for the scouts ahead of the storm's landfall, including the relocation of the jamboree participants to hotels in Seoul.
A person was killed and 70 others were injured on Japan's Okinawa Island due to the storm, said the country's Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
South Korea suffers intense heatwaves
The country is grappling with one of its hottest summers in several years, which have resulted in a huge setback for the hosts of the World Scout Jamboree. Hundreds of participants have been treated for heat-related illnesses since the event started last week.
The hot temperatures have already forced thousands of American and British scouts to pull out from the site and relocated to different sites. The British scouts were transferred to hotels in Seoul while the American scouts were moved to Camp Humphreys, a US military base south of the capital.
Even before the event started, many critics have pointed out the problems of bringing so many people to an area without trees and thus lacking protection from the summer heat.
As per the South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety, at least 19 people have died from heat-related illnesses across the country since May. The scorching weather warning was raised to the highest level for the first time in four years in the country.
Meanwhile, Geir Olav Kaase, leader of the 700-member Norwegian contingent, said that his scouts had already started leaving the campsite on Monday evening to “avoid any chaos that may arise in the event of a joint evacuation.
On the other hand, Kim Hyun-sook, South Korea’s gender equality and family minister, said that officials are trying to arrange new cultural events for the scouts before they leave, including a possible K-pop concert.
(with AP inputs)
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